Maybe it's time for WJR to power down and go off the air

[BayCityJohn2337]

Just an observation. WHO in Des Moines number 1 in the market with no FM and WLW in Cincinnati 1 in the market with no FM available. Am radio rules in these markets!

[Realist]

Just an observation. WHO in Des Moines number 1 in the market with no FM and WLW in Cincinnati 1 in the market with no FM available. Am radio rules in these markets!

Just wondering - what are the6 doing differently versus WJR? All local, all day and evening???

[MWmetalhead]

WLW follows the formula I proposed above for WJR.

It also has more resources devoted to local news reporting than WJR (which makes sense, as Cincinnati has no WWJ equivalent) and airs a TON of live play-by-play. It's aired Reds baseball forever.

WLW out bills WJR by at least $5 million a year.

[fairbankshockeypuck]

oldies format...could'nt be any worse could it?
Zoomer 740 in Toronto certainly gets a lot of chatter on social media
May not make any $$$$ but an alternative...

[MWmetalhead]

When was the last time you looked at CZFM's music logs?

It definitely is not an Oldies station in the traditional sense.

I would best describe the playlist as eclectic AC Gold. The station plays 90s and even select 00s tracks on occasion now.

Overall, I think their playlist looks like a trainwreck.

https://www.zoomerradio.ca/what-was-that-song/

WAKY Louisville, WECK Buffalo and WTIX New Orleans are much better radio stations, in my opinion.

Have you heard what AM radio sounds like in most cars sold within the past decade? Music programming sounds like total trash given the super narrow bandwidth restriction.

WAKY and WECK both have multiple FM simulcasts. WTIX is exclusively FM. Even CFZM has an FM translator in downtown Toronto.

[FakeAndyStuart]

More continuing proof that Cumulus' lack of priority for heritage stations, AM or FM, or proper distribution of resources to winning stations.

iHeart, a shitty company, at least puts resources into stations like WLW, WTAM and WBZ. They do starve a lot of markets like Columbus (I think there is one great air personality there who is doing individual shows for over 20 stations in the region.) But they will pay the big bucks for the Reds, Bengals and Guardians to keep those stations viable. (I have a feeling they would pay almost anything for the Buckeye rights right now..)

Cumulus has abandoned or written off so many stations and markets. They do okay in Dallas with a cluster of stations, they do well with WGRR/Cincinnati (and they do pump money into it) but it seems they starve every market almost equally, not taking advantage of their strengths and heritage.

WJR has almost no local sports assets right now.. other than MSU (which rhymes with Number Two). The name hosts (Paul W. Smith and Mitch Album) are in the twilight of their careers with no up and comers anywhere. I think I would sell it to the Jesus crowd and move on.

[edj]

WLW has a translator, but obviously doesn't cover the whole market and isn't really promoted. I haven't looked to see if WHO does, and if so, how much of the Des Moines metro it covers.

50,000 watt WCKY on 1530 has one local show that I'm aware of, in afternoon drive. The rest is ESPN or overflow sports. Ratings are low.

[Gertner]

Who is their right fucking mind would listen to AM radio in 2025

[TC Talks]

Who is their right fucking mind would listen to AM radio in 2025

My car doesn't even have AM.

[ProducerXM]

I don’t think any station on AM will survive the next ten years. Maybe five.

[MWmetalhead]

I don't think it'll go kaput that quickly, but I do agree with the general premise that mainstream programming will become increasingly scarce on AM, and I also agree that broadcast owners will pull the plug on more & more of their AM transmitters.

[organman95]

I don't think WJR can shutdown (at least not without some serious FCC discussion beyond filing to shutdown). I don't know what all entails a station becoming a Primary Entry Point for EAS, but WJR has been the PEP since the EAS was put in place in 1997.

[Radiobirdman]

There are plenty of AM stations across the country that are at or near the top of ratings: WBZ, WSB, WBBM, KSL, KFI, etc. With its history, signal, and perch in the Fisher building WJR could rule Detroit if it wanted to.

[edj]

WBBM is mostly FM listenership. They don't even promote 780. The same goes with WSB.

[CurlyHoward]

Correct. WBBM identifies itself as 105.9, not 780. What about the other former big Chicago AM stations, those are more analogous to WJR.

WGN-audience literally died off at the same time they lost the Cubs after decades, now no one listens
WLS-complete joke, Don Wade and then Rush Limbaugh went to the great booth in the sky, hasn't even been live and local in afternoons for over five years. Cheap and cheerful right wing talk off the bird for 6 old people.
WSCR-became lame SJW sports radio about a decade ago, the people who built the station like Mike North, Terry Boers, Dan McNeil and even Dan Bernstein are long gone.